Research Tips

How to Capture Chinese Digital Characters

With thanks from Tom Loui …

The following may help you capture Chinese digital characters into your documents. I use an online Chinese dictionary to find Chinese characters and their definitions. If you have a neatly written Chinese character, with the strokes clearly written, you can use the following procedures to add the digital character to any document. If the Chinese character was written in Chinese script, you may need to find someone to rewrite the character clearly with each stroke.

1. Goto URL LINE Dictionary : English-Thai, Chinese-English, English-Chinese Dictionary

LINE Dictionary : English-Thai, Chinese-English, English-Chinese Dictionary
LINE Dictionary is providing free dictionary and free translator. English -Thai Dictionary, Chinese -English Dic…

2. Click on the pen in the search box. A window will appear that is interactive using your mouse. Place your mouse in the left box, hold down the left mouse button and start writing each stroke of the Chinese character. You need to let go of the mouse button at the end of each stroke. Then move the mouse to a location to start your next stroke. As you write each stroke, possible Chinese characters based on what you draw will appear in the right box. If you make a mistake with your stroke, you can click on Undo or Clear at the bottom of the window. When you see the Chinese character that closely matches your Chinese character, move the mouse over the character, the pinyin will appear above the character. If this is the Chinese character, left click the mouse button and the character will appear in the search box. However, this will also clear the interactive window.

3. Click on the X on the bottom right of the window to close it.

4. The Chinese character that you just selected will show the various meanings as well as how it is used with other Chinese characters and the resulting meanings of the combinations of characters. Now highlight the Chinese character in the search box by placing the mouse pointer next to the character, hold down the left mouse button and drag it across the character to highlight the character. Release the mouse button, move the mouse pointer over the character, click the right mouse button. A drop down menu will appear. Move the mouse pointer to copy, it should change color, click the left mouse button once.

5. Open a Word document that you want to add the Chinese character that you just copied. Place the mouse pointer at the location you want to add the Chinese character, right click the mouse button. A drop down menu will appear. Select paste and left click the mouse button once. The Chinese character should now appear on your document. You can copy and paste this character as many times as you want. You can also enlarge each character by first highlighting the character and then selecting the size font you want.

6. Repeat this procedure for all your Chinese characters

Note: Always verify with the person who provided you the hand written Chinese characters by showing them the document with the digitized characters in the text.

Hope this is what you are looking to learn how to capture Chinese digital characters.